Improvement in propellers



, tnitrdtatrt @sind ctjpirr.

-ALFRED C. LOUD', `OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFRNIA. Lerarsraamlvasam,(luana/g4,1869.

mPRovr-.MENT IN PRoPnLLnRs.

The Schedule referred tointhese Letters Patent and making part of the s'ame.

To all whom 'it may comte/m;

Beit known that I, ALFRED O. LOUD, of the city aud'county of San Francisco, and `State-of California, have invented a new and improved Propeller; 'and I do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description of the construction and opera? tion of the same, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, making'a part of this specification,

in which my invention is represented by a perspective view. l

This invention is an `improvement uponA the device patented by me January 19, 1869; and consists in placing `upon a revolving horizontal shaft, four or more wheels, or annular, rims, securednpon said shaft atan angle `varying `from a right angle about fifteen degrees, (more or 1ess,) the disks, or rims ofeach pair intersecting each otheron opposite sides of the shaft, and the intersections being so arranged, that they occur at or about regular intervals along the perimeter of the wheel.

In the drawingsi l A represents the shaft, and B, the wheel,'the latter consisting of four annular rims, b b b2 b3, attached to a hub, 4h, by spokes i c', and intersecting each other at or near c e e e, at which'points the` rims may be soldered, bolted, or otherwise rmly fastened together, or vmay simply pass each other without being thus attached together.

s g By thispeculiar construction, a'system of `diamondshaped spaces, or buckets z zwill be arranged around i the middle of the periphery of the wheel, and along side of 4such series of buckets, oneither side thereof', a 'system of triangular, or half-diamond buckets o o,

Athe acute terminal anglesof the side buckets coming at the obtuse lateral angles of the centre buckets.

By this construction, the wheelv not only has the full advantage of the lateral-swaying motion referred to in my former patent, and there compared to the action' of an oar in sculling, or ofthe tail of a sh, but it also has the full effect of a system of direct-action buckets, formed bythe intersection of the rims, and shown atmm m. f L 'A V,

l Said buckets enter and leave the water with the least possible friction and back action, and exert their power tothe best possible` advantage.

In` addition to this advantage in operation, 'the several rims `interlaced. together in the manner described, mutually brace and strengthen each other, forming one of the strongest and most durable propeiling-,wheels everr invented.

Besides all these advantages, the buckets are ar" acting on the same principle'. p

Instead of annular rims, a series of entire dlsks, or

ranged uniformly aronnd the perimeter of the Wheel,

so that the propelling-action is even, smooth, and uniform, and not to some extent intermittent or irregular,

as in the different modications of my former wheels circular plates, extending from the periphery to the shaft, or hub, and intersecting each other in the manner above described, might in some cases be employed to advantage. Such a wheel I considera mere modiiicationof my invention. y

Any number of spokes `or hubs,.and form and construction tl1ereof, maybe employed in connection with my improved wheel.

-It will be observed Vthat the outline of the wheel is not strictly circular, but has eccentric protuberances upon its several sides, depending upon the number of rims, or disks employed, resulting from the oblique position of the rings with reference to the shaft.

lThe perimeter of the wheel may, however, if pre Vferred, be turned or out down to a perfect circle. A cylinder, whether solid or hollow, attachedto the shaft, and occupying the space between it andthe rings, the latter being fastened to or supported by the cylinder, is an obvious modification of my invention.

` So, too, the rings maybe made of continuous pieces j l l of metal, or each onemay be made up of segments so arranged upon spokes, disks, cylinders, or other-A wise, that `their outline will correspond substantially.'

with that of the wheel represented in the drawings annexed.

Ina word, I do not intend-to limit myself to the precise details of construction herein shown, but desire to be at liberty to avail myself of substantially the same arrangement ofoblique-curved plates,whether attached to the shaitin one or another method, whether eachplate be in -one piece, or several, and whether the several plates be joined together or not. i

Having thus describedV my invention, What I claim as new, Vand desire to-secure by Letters Patent, is-- A propelling-wheel, so constructed as to exert its propelling-power.against the water, by means of four 4 or more rings, or rims b b b2 b3, arranged obliqnely with reference to the shaft, and intersecting each other, as described.-

A. (l. LOUD.' Witnesses: s

- Ones. A. Pn'r'rrr,

SonoN G. KEMON.. 

